Improved brick-machine



UNITED STATES PATENT OEFIGE.

ISAAC `lVIOItLEY, 0F `ALLEGHENY CITY, PENNSYLVANIA.

IMPRovED BRICK-MACHINE.

Specification forming part of Letters Patent No. 49,430, dated August 15, 1865.

To all whom it may concern Be" it known that I, ISAAC l\10RLEY,of-Pitts-I burg, in the county of Allegheny and State of Pennsylvania, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Machines for Making Bricks; and I do hereby declare that the following is a clear, full, and exact description thereof, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, and to the letters of reference marked thereon, making part ot this specifi,- cationl,

Figure l being a top-plan view; Fig. 2, a side elevation 5 Fig. 3, a vertical section taken inthe line :v fr of Fig. l; Fig. 4, a perspective view ot' one of the molds, and Fig. 5 a horizontal section of a portion in theliney y of Fig.3.

Similar letters indicate corresponding parts wherever they occur.

My invention consists in a novel construction ofa machine in which the clay is mixed and then forced into molds by the direct pressure of steam, compressed air, or other iiuid, and the molds containing the brick then removed by the mechanism.

AV representsa strong box or frame-work, having a hopper, B,in its upper portion, into which the clay is placed, and whereit is ground and mixed to a plastic condition by means of the revolving shaft C, in the usual manner.

Below the shaft (l, in the center of the hopper B, a stationary piece, H, is firmly secured,

as shown in Fig. 3, extending from end to end of the hopper, but occupying only about onethird ot'the width of the same. Fitting snugly underneath this piece H are two vertical plates, I, so arranged thatthey may move laterally, and yet be steam-tight-,lor nearly so, thus forming a steam box or chamber, L, in the lower centrai portion of hopper B, a space being left on either side ot' said chamber L, as shown, for the prepared clay to pass into. A pipe, K, serves to admit steam or other iiuid into the chamber L.

Directly opposite tothe plates Iopenin gs are made in the sides of the box A; and in these openings are secured the plates F, provided with a series ot' openings, a., ofthe size and form that it is intended to make the brick, one of these plates being shown detached in Fig. 6. Outside of these plates F a movable frame, G, is placed, which may consist of a series ofvertical wires attached to a `suitable frame-work, as shown in Fig. 7; or itmay be a thin metallic plate having holes `cnt in it to correspond with the openings a in plate F.

E representsthe mold,wwhich consists of a strong frame, orblock of wood or metal, hav- A inga series of cells, m, formed therein, oi'proper size and form` to give shape tothe brick, this frame E being provided with pieces secured to its back in sucha wayasto leave small openings for the escape ot' the air as the clay is forced into the cells in, as shown in Fig. 4. Theseframes E` are `fitted to slidelongitudinally in the frames D, fitted immediately in their rear, as shown in Fig. 3. The frames D arealso made to move a short distance longitudinally and rest on their back againstthe beveled pieces e e, as `shown in Fig. 5, the

frames D having inclined or beveled bearings f f formed thereon where they come in contact with the pieces e c. It ywill thusbe seen that when the frame D is moved in the direction indicated by the arrow in Fig. 5 it will also be moved backward away from G at the same time, its line of movement being oblique, corresponding with the beveled faces f f, the object of' which will be hereinafter explained.

Upon a platform to `which the box A is attached is also mounted the operating mechanism, which consists of a main shat't,`M, having secured thereto the wheels N N andT T for moving the slides g and h, these latter bein gprovided with teeth, into which the teeth or cogs ot' the wheels N and T engage respectively as the latter rotate, as shown in Figs. l and 2. A wheel or pulley, R, is also mounted on said shaft M, from which motion is imparted to the shaft U by means of the belt`R. An eccentric, P, on said shaft M serves to operate the piston of the condenser and receiver J ,by which the steam is exhausted` from the chamberL through pipe l, which connects said chamber with the condenser J.

It will be observed that the wheels N and T are provided with teeth on a portion of their periphery only, and henceI the slides g and It remain at rest during a portion of the revolu-` tion of said wheels, `they being operated only at such times as the teeth on the wheels come in contact with the teeth on the slides; and as soon as the wheels have rotated far enough to permit the teeth thereon to pass the slides the latter not only cease their forward movement, but are immediately drawn back by the weights s, attached by cords to their rear ends, t0 their original position again, ready for auother forward movement.

The slides h are located in line with the frames F, so that as the slide is moved forward by the wheel N its front point, i, will hit the frameG and shove it forward a distance equal to the width of a brick,and as soon as that is accomplished the projection r on said slide h impinges against the frame D, giving it the forward and lateral movement already described; By the time that this is accomplished ythe slide g moves forward in line with the mold-frameY E and shoves it out at the opposite side of the box A, au empty frame, E, being inserted between the end of g and the frame E, already in the box, whereby the latter orempty frame is made to take the place of the one removed.

The operation is as follows: Clay being placed in the hopper B, motion is imparted to the shaft C, when the clay, after being mixed, passes down into the lower portion of the hopper, between the plates l and F. Steam being admitted through pipe K into the box L, the

plates I are forced out, thereby pressing the clay in front of them through the holes a of plate F into the molds m of frame E. A forward motion of frame G then severs the clay in the molds from that in the box, and the frame l), with frameE, being moved, as previously described, by the slide h, removes the bricks in the mold from contact with anything in front, when the frame E, with its brick, is shoved out on the opposite side of the-box A by means of slide g, where it is received by the attendant and the brick properly disposed of. At the instant that the bricks in the molds are severed from the clay in the box the steam in down from above again, ready for repeating the process.

It should be observed that the frames D may be returned to their position by means of weights, similarly to the slides; or springs may by used for that purpose.

In case the weight of the superincumbent mass of clay in the hopper B should not be sufficient to hold that in the lower portion down, and thus insure the brick being sufficiently pressed, a sliding plate, V, may be arranged to slide horizontally across the hopper, as shown in Fig. 3, and thus prevent the clay below froin'being forced upward by the pressure of plates I when the steam is admitted. This plate V, if used, will need to be `moved back after the molds are filled, so as to permit a fresh supply ot' clay to pass below it preparatory to filling the molds` again. This motion may be given to plate V by any suitable mechanism connected with and operated by the machine.

It is obvious that compressed air may be used instead of steam for operating the plates I; but steam is believed to be preferable for the purpose.

Having thus fully described my invention,

1. Pressing the clay into the molds by means of steam or other fluid acting on the plates I or their equivalents, substantially as shown and described. A

2. The movable molds E, in combination with the frames D and Gr, arranged and operating substantially as and for the purpose herein set forth.

3. Operating the frames G, E, and D by means of the vwheels and slides or their equivalents, as and for the purpose set forth.

4. The arrangementof the frame D, as shown in Fig.5, whereby the bricks in the molds shall be moved back from contact with the clay in the hopper or the plates F, as and for the purpose set forth.

ISAAC MORLEY.

Witnesses:

W. C. DODGE, C. H. FowLER. 

